


Imprisonment Behind the Masks

by Nightwing4Batman



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-01
Updated: 2013-02-01
Packaged: 2017-11-27 20:08:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/665958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightwing4Batman/pseuds/Nightwing4Batman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The masks that he uses are more then those on his face. He's only as real as the masks he needs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Imprisonment Behind the Masks

He wore a mask every day, sometimes multiple at a time. It made him feel hollow, as though he wasn't real and that he was only smoke and mirrors. Simply an illusion to satisfy the onlookers. His classmates, teachers, teammates, all of them, even the criminals needed him to wear his mask. To the average student, he was the rich son of a playboy, the charity case with the good luck, the circus freak. To his teachers he was a genius who was kind and attentive to his work.

A plain mask made of nothing but mellow yellow. Every morning the sun arrived, surviving in it's steadfast and unwavering manner, serving as a reminder to keep his mask until he could exchange it for his favorite. The one used only in the darkness. Darkness was what he used to mask himself as his other self, Robin the Boy Wonder. Another illusion to maintain while he was around his teammates. Just for them he was calm and quiet. Even if his mask might change to another.

They were always changing after all; he was always making adjustments to his mask. Robin always laughed at and mocked the villains or their henchman. Robin was always laughing, always flying through the air, his cackles in the air a muddy silver. One day they might gleam radiantly and another they might be tarnished just like him. For his teammates he wore a mask of a hacking genius who could be very childish, disobedient, who might rebel against orders or use his exceptional skills to play the role of a ninja. To them he could act like a troll, one that taunts them and uses made-up words and sarcasm to mask his annoyance or anger. The fragility of it was white, he was always careful to protect it before it could be tarnished by his other masks, before they leaked into this Robin. The one who was a part of a team, who owed them his dedication and hard work. It was an imperfect mask that would one-day break. 

The only place where his masks go away, where he can finally feel human and be true to himself is in the company of his father and grandfather. Where illusions melt away to reveal the stark truth. The colors of his masks are released, leaving behind a mask that is a plain black and white. The only thing left being nothing but the truth. His body relaxes as he breathes. All lies and half-truths disappear; the only thing remaining is just him, Dick Grayson. Not a freak, not a genius, not a boy wonder named Robin, but a young boy who is still haunted by fears and plagued by self-doubts.

A boy who doesn't always know the answer, who just wishes that he could laugh and cry, scream and shout, without the looks of surprise. Who desires a place where he can act like a child without anyone judging him. Where he can sit on his father's lap without protest and where his nightmares can be chased away by the safety of his home and family. Where his masks can melt into nothingness and where masks disappear leaving him with nothing. This dream lasts only until the sunlight comes flooding into his room with its yellow luminescence and his masks return yet again. Continuing the endless cycle that shall repeat until he breaks or his mask fails, revealing the darkness that he is and the mismatch of colors that are him.

**Author's Note:**

> First story posted on this site .


End file.
